West Ham sporting director Mark Noble insists no one could "begrudge" Declan Rice if he transferred to a club which could offer him Champions League football.
The eye-catching comments come as interest from Premier League rivals grows in the England international, 24, who has entered the final 18 months of his contract at London Stadium. Manchester United are long-term admirers of Rice while Chelsea, where the player spent seven years as an academy prospect, were credited with interest before Christmas.
In a fresh twist during the January transfer window, Arsenal joined the race to sign the all-action midfielder, creating a three-club tussle. Rice will not come on the cheap, as David Moyes has declared it will take a fee larger than the British-record £105million Chelsea paid to sign Enzo Fernandez to convince the Irons to sell up.
Nonetheless, Rice has made it clear that he wants to play at the highest level and this comes as no surprise to Noble. The 35-year-old hung up his boots at the end of last season having made 550 appearances for the Hammers and returned as sporting director in January, so Rice's future is of the utmost importance for him.
Noble told the Evening Standard: "We're West Ham and these players want to go out and play Champions League football - and do you blame them? Dec is no different. Dec will always be hailed at West Ham as a fantastic player and such a top, top person.
"But I don't think anyone begrudges him wanting to go and win things. We just hope he'll keep performing like he has been over the last month or so. Wherever Declan ends up, or however much someone pays for him, whether it's here or anywhere else, he's worth every penny.
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"He's said openly he loves playing at West Ham, but he has got ambitions as a player to go and play in the Champions League and win trophies. I don't think any West Han fan can actually have an agenda over that. Do you blame him for having really big ambitions? Of course you don't. If he didn't, he probably wouldn't be as good as he is."
Rice has made 27 appearances for West Ham this season, scoring once, and inherited the captain's armband from Noble last summer. His desire to play Champions League football means Arsenal or Manchester United may be in the driver's seat to sign him due to their positions in the table.
The Gunners are leading the division by five points while the Red Devils can be confident of a top-four finish as they sit third. Chelsea, in contrast, are down in ninth after a poor first half of the season, which could hinder their hopes of signing Rice.
